Animal Control Advisory Board recaps first year

The St. Joseph County Animal Control Advisory Board had a lengthy list of accomplishments in 2012.

By Jef RietsmaJournal Correspondent

With its first year in the books, the St. Joseph County Animal Control Advisory Board had a lengthy list of accomplishments in 2012.

Formed in July 2011 as a panel under the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, the ACAB comprises seven board members and meets monthly.

Board members primarily oversee the welfare of the county’s Animal Control Department and its animal shelter.

Lynda Molter, who had served as the board’s chairperson since its inception but recently stepped down, presented the board’s annual report Tuesday to county commissioners.

Molter began by noting the board was successful in the animal shelter getting rid of its gas chamber, a euthanasia chamber the agency previously used to put down dogs and cats not adopted.

Animal control is now using injections, a more-humane procedure, Molter said. Three department members are trained to administer the lethal injections.

Other changes, she said, were low-cost amendments that centered on procedural matters more than anything else.

Other highlights:

A red-tag system was introduced so volunteers will know cages with red tags affixed signify an animal not safe to handle or walk.Animal control uniforms were changed so personnel no longer appear to be a part of the sheriff’s department.Some Saturday and evening hours were added to better work with the schedules of prospective clients.A job description was created for a kennel staff member. Funding for the position, however, was denied by county commissioners.A policy was put into effect where individuals with a record of domestic violence or other violent crimes could be denied adopting an animal.A volunteer program was better organized by volunteer coordinator Lorilee Knepper. Volunteer duties range from walking dogs to showing prospective adopters the inventory of animals available for adoption.The advisory board has made impressive progress, Molter said. She said a new animal shelter remains a long-range goal for the board.

“Looking to the future our county will be facing many challenges,” Molter said. “It is very important while making our county desirable to businesses and families to present a desirable quality of life; the ACAB has been researching the best way to accomplish this goal.”

Molter said members at a recent sub-committee meeting determined that the advisory board should recommend that animal-handling protocol undergo some changes:

It has been determined that the animal control officers should continue to handle the roadwork and house the animals that are on a legal hold.When the dogs are ready for adoption, they would be transferred to a private rescue, such as the humane society.The humane society would manage the new facility that would house the majority of the dogs and would also have more humane facilities for the homeless cats.“These are ambitious goals, to be sure, but goals this county must achieve in-order to attract economic growth,” Molter said. “As the board moves to the future, (its members) will continue to help the director streamline the day-to-day operations of the sheltering of homeless animals with an eye to a new day.”